Globalization and the health of Canadians: ‘Having a job is the most important thing’

Labonté, Ronald, Cobbett, Elizabeth, Orsini, Michael, Spitzer, Denise, Schrecker, Ted and Ruckert, Arne (2015) Globalization and the health of Canadians: ‘Having a job is the most important thing’. Globalization and Health, 11. ISSN 1744-8603

Preview	PDF (Labonte_etal_2015) - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB) | Preview
Preview	PDF (Published_Version) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (857kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background Globalization describes processes of greater integration of the world economy through increased flows goods, services, capital and people. Globalization has undergone significant transformation since the 1970s, entrenching neoliberal economics as the dominant model of global market integration. Although this transformation has generated some health gains, since the 1990s it has also increased health disparities. Methods As part of a larger project examining how contemporary globalization was affecting the health of Canadians, we undertook semi-structured interviews with 147 families living in low-income neighbourhoods in Canada’s three largest cities (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver). Many of the families were recent immigrants, which was another focus of the study. Drawing on research syntheses undertaken by the Globalization Knowledge Network of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, we examined respondents’ experiences of three globalization-related pathways known to influence health: labour markets (and the rise of precarious employment), housing markets (speculative investments and affordability) and social protection measures (changes in scope and redistributive aspects of social spending and taxation). Interviews took place between April 2009 and November 2011. Results Families experienced an erosion of labour markets (employment) attributed to outsourcing, discrimination in employment experienced by new immigrants, increased precarious employment, and high levels of stress and poor mental health; costly and poor quality housing, especially for new immigrants; and, despite evidence of declining social protection spending, appreciation for state-provided benefits, notably for new immigrants arriving as refugees. Job insecurity was the greatest worry for respondents and their families. Questions concerning the impact of these experiences on health and living standards produced mixed results, with a majority expressing greater difficulty ‘making ends meet,’ some experiencing deterioration in health and yet many also reporting improved living standards. We speculate on reasons for these counter-intuitive results. Conclusions Current trends in the three globalization-related pathways in Canada are likely to worsen the health of families similar to those who participated in our study.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	canada,globalization and health,labour markets,housing,social protection,immigrant health,sdg 1 - no poverty,sdg 3 - good health and well-being,sdg 11 - sustainable cities and communities,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/no_poverty
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Critical Global Politics
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2015 22:26
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2023 09:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/53332
DOI:	10.1186/s12992-015-0104-1

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item